The Irish Examiner are reporting the news the hurling world has felt was coming for some time: Davy Fitz is to step away from the Clare hurlers. After a management spell that began with an All-Ireland title, the subsequent years have proved disappointing: they've yet to return to Croke Park since lifting Liam in that anarchic replay against Cork.
A Clare People report says that a number of players on the panel have made it known they would like a change of management. They also stress that relations remain cordial between both parties.
With Fitzgerald expected to confirm his intention to leave in a statement within the next 48 hours, attention will now turn to the future, and his potential replacement.
Clare have the talent to push for another All-Ireland, so let's take a look at some of the men who may be in position to take them there.
Gerry O'Connell and/or Donal Moloney
O'Connell and Moloney were the men who guided Clare to three All-Ireland hurling titles at Under-21 level between 2012 and 2014. Their familiarity with the current squad, along with their track record with said squad, will make them firm favourites for the job, most likely as a double act.
That level of success, with the current squad, will make them difficult to ignore.
Donal Óg Cusack
In one of the most surprising moves ahead of the 2016 season, Donal Óg Cusack joined the Clare backroom team. RTE released him from his Sunday Game contract to allow him join Davy Fitz's backroom side, presumably safe in the knowledge that Davy and Donal Óg on the sideline could provide adequate TV entertainment.
Donal Óg finished his stint as chairman of the GPA, and informed club Cloyne of his retirement ahead of taking the job, so it was a considerable commitment by the ex-goalkeeper.
He wants a career in management, and you would assume that he will take the Cork job at some stage. Kieran Kingston, however, is expected to serve the second of his two-year tenure next year, and although he is on the look-out for a coach following the departure of Frank Flannery, it may be too soon for Cusack to return home.
Given that the relationship between players and current management remains good, and the fact he knows first-hand the talent of the panel, perhaps Donal Óg will emulate Davy: take over a rival Munster county before returning home to deliver the Holy Grail?
Anthony Daly
Could the two-time All-Ireland captain earn a second shot at the top job? Daly coached Clare from 2003 to 2006, a period of relative success: they underwhelmed in Munster but took Kilkenny to a replay in 2004, lost by a single point to eventual champions Cork in the 2005 All-Ireland semi-final before losing to Kilkenny in the 2006 All-Ireland semi-final, the game which prompted Daly's resignation.
A period of club management followed before taking the Dublin job, a post he held for six years. The highlights included the National League win of 2011 (their first in sixty-five years) and then the Leinster title in 2013.
Daly is now heavily involved with Limerick. He was appointed as head coach of Limerick’s underage hurling academy at the end of 2014, so it remains to be seen if another crack at the top job in his native county. He did relatively well in his first stint, but the players at his disposal this time around are of a much higher quality, so the temptation must be there.
Liam Sheedy
Sheedy led Tipperary to the All-Ireland in 2010, and it can be said that he helped lay the foundations of this year's success, in the sense that his backroom contained both Eamon O'Shea and Michael Ryan. He gave Tipp the added but of steel to add to their undoubted skill that helped them topple Kilkenny. Clare are in need of exactly that.
He has a pretty nice number with RTE at the moment, but if Clare come calling, will he be tempted to plot the downfall of his native Tipp?
John O'Meara
If the Banner are keen to promote from within their own club championship, then O'Meara may well be the best option: he has guided Sixmilebridge to two county titles in three years, all at the age of just 37. He was an All-Ireland winner at minor level with Clare in 1997, and his time at 'Bridge has been noted for his ability to get the best out of Niall Gilligan: who is three years his senior.
If he can convince the Clare County Board that he can coax the best out of a youthful Clare panel, then he may well be an outsider.
Ger Loughnane
Ah, sure why not?
